The Worst
by JerinAnn
Summary: How I thought Nudge should have reacted on page 116 of The Angel Experiment when Fang doesn't want to see if Max is alright. One-Shot


**A/N: So this is my first Maximum Ride fanfiction and my first fanfiction written in third person as well. I hope you guys like this one as much as I did. I always wondered what would happen if this actually happened.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Max, Iggy, Fang, Nudge, Gazzy, and Angel. It all belongs to James Patterson. I wish I owned Fang or Iggy. 3**

**Summary of what happened before I take over. Max was shot in the first book, and Fang decided to just leave her instead of trying to find out what happened to her. Nudge went along with it, which I think is out of character for her. This takes place after Fang says that Max is late because she's busy and that they should go to the mountains to weight for her.**

Nudge continued to look at Fang in disbelief, her mouth open. She couldn't believe what she was hearing from Fang. Fang who was Max's second in command. She was abruptly furious, but she remembered something Max had once told her: think before you speak.

_Sorry, Max,_ Nudge thought as she was about to let loose the full power of her mouth.

"How dare you!" Nudge almost screamed, and Fang whipped around in response, his usual vacant face full of surprise. "Max trusts you. she likes you just as much as he likes Angel. She even made you her right-hand man. She relies on you. You know full well that if you were in her position and she your's she would go help you no matter what."

Fang stared at Nudge, unable to speak. No one, not even max, had ever spoken to him like that. Fang, of course, cared for Max like the rest of the flock, but he was in charge right now and had to look after Nudge.

Fang was about to speak, but Nudge wasn't finished. "I care about Max. She treats me like she's my mom. She cares about me." Tears were falling down her face against her will. "I can't lose her. I have to find her, with or without you."

Nudge took off in the general direction where they got separated from Max. Nudge had half expected Fang to leave her, but there we was, leading the way.

When they got to the spot, the saw nothing out of the ordinary, which translated to no Max. Nudge's heart was pounding. _Max, where are you? Please come out._

"She's not here, Nudge. We should probably go," Fang said with a hard edge to his voice that Nudge couldn't decipher.

"No! I'm going down for a closer look." Nudge dived down towards the ground and could hear Hang utter a curse as he followed her lead.

They landed lightly on their feets, barely making a sound. Nudge examined the ground for clues as Fang swept the area for any threats. Nudge saw a bunch of footprints in the desert sand and saw them lead up to the woods bordering the place. She got up and walked to the trees and sensed rather than heard Fang following her.

Fang walked over to a tree that looked like someone had blasted it with something. He thought for a moment before he froze. It looked like someone had shot it. _No, that's impossible,_ Fang quickly thought. _Max isn't that stupid._

He heard Nudge give a soft gasp, and his head turned in her direction. Nudge held up a windbreaker, Max's windbreaker. Fang's heart jumped into his throat. He refused to believe that Max was injured.

They continued along the path until Nudge screamed. Fang clamped his hand around her mouth to muffle the sound. "What is it?" he whispered urgently.

Nudge pointed with a shaking hand at the ground where a huge puddle of blood was. The tree next to it was also hit. He stared at it, shocked. He never thought Max would get hurt there. He foolishly believed that she was being held up by fighting something. He was internally cursing himself for not going with her.

They followed the trail of blood, doubling back a few times as the trail ended in water. Fang knew that if Max was hiding in water someone was still following her.

Nudge was constantly thinking the worst. She was glad Angel wasn't anywhere near them at the moment knowing if Angel saw Max lying lifeless in a pool of her own blood in Nudge's mind she would cry. Heck, Nudge was about to cry, but she needed to stay strong, for Max if not herself.

They reached what they thought was a small clearing only to realize that it was a yard. They saw the blood trail led to the house.

Without thinking, Fang raced across the yard and flung himself into the air long enough to silently grab hold of the second story window. He was overcome by the need to make sure that Max was alright. Not only because she was his leader, but because she was a good friend. He peered cautiously inside to see Max sitting on the toilet and a woman putting a needle in Max's arm. Fang was fighting the urge to go in there, rip the needle out, and throw the woman out the window. He kept himself where he was only by knowing that if Max was taking this calmly then he should as well.

He saw the woman take a look at Max's wing and Fang's eyes widened slightly. He couldn't believe that Max had not only told this woman about what she was, but had actually shown her. He felt betrayed. He couldn't help it. He was trying to beat the emotion down with logic, but it was hard.

He knew that Max would only tell her about what they were if she was going to die. He knew that it would have taken a lot in her to say a word, but the only person that had ever known what they were outside the flock was Jeb.

He quickly dropped down from the window and started towards Nudge who was looking at him anxiously. "Max will be fine in a couple days. Let's go."

They took off in the general direction of the road when they saw a white truck pass. Nudge insisted on following it since it had the place where her parents were supposed to be. Fang didn't agree with the plan though he trailed after Nudge when she started to follow it. Fang was still mulling over what Max had done. He was angry, but he knew that his anger would vanish after he saw her again.


End file.
